Track block and block-formed track



March 10, 1925.

v. P. TURNBO TRACK BLOCK AND BLOCK FORMED TRACK 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1922 glwue nto'a A Tzuvzbo March 10, 1925 1,529,329

V. P. TURNBO TRACK BLOCK AND BLOCK FORMED TRACK Filed Au 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 10, 1925,

PAT ENT OFFICE.

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were: 31.66.15.411: nrio'ok romvrnn 'TRAoK.

Application flied. August 2 .522 Sriatlio; 585 319;

To a-ZZwkb m it may concern; I Beit known thatI, VEsTIAPjTrinNnda citizen of the United, States, residing at Atoka, in the county; of Atokaand State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Track Block and Block-Formed Tracks, of' which 'the follow .ingis a specification.

This invention relates tofroads, and more specifically to an improved track-block and block forined'ltracks." i l One} object of thisjinvention is to, provide a set ofroad form'ingblock s ortrack forming blocksfe'ach of which can befcau'sed to constitute a' curb element and" part-tot a road-bed, it being afu'rth'er object to gen erally'improve upon and minimize the cost of vehicle ro'a'cls. V,

A further object is to"proyide' blocks of this character alving interlocking portions which assist" t ie mad-builder in eperiy pla'cing'the blocks against one another sofas to break 'all joints andsecure the blocks 'in such po s'ition that the contiguous surfaces of the blocks are flush wit-h one another.

A further object is to-provide blocks' of this character each havingxformed thereon a levelingguide or afdepth-gage for gaging the depth of asphalt or other road-surface material placedon the upper row offbloc'ks of a tier.

A further object is to provide an" improved reinforcement for blocks 7 of this character, also to provide similar and efiioient means for tying two series or tiers of blocks against moving' 'laterally withrespect to one another. I r

Other. objects and advantages will be pointed outior imp'lied'in the followingdetails of description, in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figs 1 isfapeispective view illustrating one side of a road embodying a simple form of my improved block.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail view illustrating the manner in which the blocks of Fig. 1 are fitted and secured together.

Figs. 3, 4; and 5 are views illustrating slightly modified forms of my invention, parts being broken away to disclose other parts.

Fig. 6 is a view illustrating two blocks of another modified form fitted together in the normal or road forming position.

be embedded Fig.7 is a top'plan View of a blocksuch as shown in Fig, 1 i I r Fig. 8 is end eleva-tion of a road constructed somewhat similar to tliat shown in Fig; 11' .l

Figl. 99s a perspective 'view illustrating airei'nfo rciii structure of wire v which may in any or all of the blocks here illusrratedt v v Referring;- to these drawingsin detail, in which similar reference. characters. .,correspondwithsimilar parts throughout the several" views, the invention consists in .the construction and arrangement of parts as will'now be fully described' as follows:v w

As more clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 7 and '8, each block lO'is substantially L-shaped and-comprises a road bed-plateill and acurb platej l2, these platesll andlQ being substantially horizontal and vertical, respectively, when in their. normalfposition, that is, the road-forming position, Moreoy er,' each blpck .10 is formed with a hemie spherical boss 13 and two quarter-spherical depressions 14:, so that two; o;f the depressions le of contignous blocks,combine. to form a hemispherical seat for. an inverted one of the bosses13. 1 This manner; of fitting the blocks together'is bestillujstrated in Fig. 2, and itwillbe seen that theupperrow of blocks 10 is inverted with respect.to.the lower row, the joint-s of: the .latte1 being broken by the 'middleportions of the blocks f t e upp O w ltl eij ints. Qfthe latter are broken the middle portions of the'fblocks of the lower row. Moreover the ne edges of theplates l l'abut against the uprightfinner surfaces oftllqcurb elements '01 plates 12f Each curbt-platea12 has one end formed] with hemispherical,boss 13*" whileits jotliierpen d tormedwith a hemispherical depression1'3 the latter receiving the boss 13 of a contiguous block of its row. Each block is formed with apertures 15 which are connected by a groove 16, and tie-rods 17 may be secured in these apertures and grooves so as to prevent lateral movement of two parallel tiers of these blocks at opposite sides of the road. Common earth, gravel, concrete, asphalt or any appropriate material may constitute the intermediate road-bed indicated at 18 in Figs. 1 and 8, this material 18 filling the space between the lower portions of the blocks 10 l'ou while covering the tie-rods 17. In this form of the invention, the upright or substantially vertical plates 12 extend abov the road-bed-plates 11 and bed material 18 so as to form a curb. When necessary or desirable, any appropriate surfacing material. 19 may be placed on the road-bed-plates 1.1 as illustrated in Figs. land 6, and in order that this material may be of substantially equal depth throughout its extent, I provide ledges or depth gages 20, these elements 20 being spaced from the integral road-bedplate a distance equal to the thickness or depth of the surfacing material 19. Therefore, when the material 19 is placed on the upper plate 11 and extends to a higher level than the ledges 20, its proper level may be attained by moving a straight-edge or scraper along the ledges 20. One of the elements 20 of each block extends inward from the curb 12 and the other extends inward from the curb-extension 12 VVhere'no curb is desired, the plates or upright portions 12, extend above the roadbed-plate a distance equal to the thickness of the road-bed-plate, so that the upper most surface of the lower block 10 is flush with the uppermost surface of the upper block 10 as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. The filling material 18 may be dispensed with where the blocks are relatively wide, or where a relatively narrow road or walk is desired, as in Fig. 4.

In view of the several forms and applications of blocks of road-forming blocks here illustrated, it will be seen that these blocks may be applied in numerous forms of road construction. Therefore, it is not intended to limit this invention to the exact details of construction and arrangement here illustrated and described, but changes may be made within the scope of the inventive ideas as implied and claimed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A road including blocks each comprising a roa-d-bed-plate and a curb-plate portion, the latter being substantially at right angles to the road-bed-plate portion, these blocks being arranged in two superposed rows, the upper one of these rows being inverted with respect to the lower row and having its road-.bed-plates fitted on those of the lower row, the curb-plates of each row being fitted against the edges of the roadbed-plates of the contiguous row, each curbplate being formed with a ledge extending substantially towards the free edge of the r0ad-bed-p1ate which is integral therewith,

this ledge being spaced from the roadbedplate a greater distance than the thickness of the road-bed-plates, and being adapted to gage the depth of surfacing material which may be placed on the upper roadbed-plate.

2. A road including blocks each comprising a road-bed-plate and a curb-plate portion, the latter being substantially at right angles to the road-bed'plate portion, these blocks being arranged in two superposed rows, the upper oneof these rows being inverted with respect to the lower row and having its road-bed-plates fitted on those of the lower row, the curb-plates of each row being fitted against the edges of the roadbed-plates of the contiguous row, each curb-plate being formed with a ledge extending inward and in spaced relation to the integral road-bed-plate, each upper block being formed with a ledgewhich extends towards the first said ledge when the upper block is seated on a lower block, and surfacing material fitted between said ledges and having its upper surface flush with these ledges, the lower part of the surfacing material extending under these ledges and secured in place thereby, means being provided for preventing horizontal movement of the upper and lower blocks with respect to one another. 7

3. The combination of two spaced parallel tiers of track-blocks, each tier consisting of two superposed rows of blocks, each block including a substantially horizontal plate anda substantially vertical plate, the upper row of blocks being inverted with respect to the lower row and fitted thereon in such manner that the blocks of each row break the joints between the blocks of the contiguous row, tie-rods secured to each tier and spanning the space between the tiers, and road-bed-material covering said tierods and filling the lower part of said space.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

vEsTiA P. TURNBO. 

